1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf equipment, and, more particularly, to apparatus for sensing the wind direction and velocity.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
The game of golf requires a golfer to hit a ball off the tee toward the green and ultimately sink the ball in a cup located somewhere on the green. The selection of a club for the tee shot and additional strokes toward the green is a function of the loft of the club and the speed of the club head at the point of impact with the ball. Any wind present will affect the decision of which club to use as a function of the loft of the club head in order to take advantage of a tailwind and minimize the effect of a headwind. Additionally, if the wind is from the left or the right, the direction of the intended trajectory of the ball will have to be adjusted to increase the likelihood that the ball will land on the fairway and not in the rough or in a bunker.
To provide information to a golfer about the wind direction and velocity, various procedures have been exercised. The simplest exercise is that of wetting one's finger and holding it vertically above one's head. The resulting evaporation of the fluid on one's finger will cool the finger facing the wind and a sense of direction of the wind can thereby be obtained. Additionally, the rapidity of cooling can be correlated to the velocity of the wind. Necessarily, this type of determination of the wind velocity and direction is a gross determination and not very accurate as it depends on multiple variables, including the sensitivity of the epidermis of the raised wetted finger.
Another procedure involves the golfer tossing blades of cut grass upwardly and watching the direction and speed of the grass as it descends. This determination is also a gross determination as the descent rate of the grass is a function of whether it is freshly cut blades of grass or dried blades of grass and the difference determines how long the grass remains airborne to provide an indication of the wind velocity and direction.
At some lies off the fairway, or even on the fairway, grass or other similar indicators may not be readily available to the golfer. A distant wind indicator, such as the pennant mounted on the pole extending from the cup in the green, is often too far away to provide an accurate indication translatable to the location of the golfer since the local wind will have different directions and velocities as a function of surrounding trees, structures and terrain.